Theater
Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Thirty years after the Rodney King verdict and the uprising that followed, Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 remains as vital as ever. Marking the anniversary, director Gregg T. Daniel revives her ground-breaking show culled from over 300 interviews with politicians, shopkeepers, activists, jurors, cops and others. “I spoke with individuals in nearly every corner of the city and its surroundings, all of whom had firsthand accounts,” Smith says. “I created Twilight for the citizens of Los Angeles.” For the revival, she has reimagined her one-woman show as a play with a cast of five.
Mark Taper Forum, March 8 to April 9, centertheatregroup.org
Sunday in the Park with George. In Pasadena Playhouse’s tribute to Stephen Sondheim, this 1985 Pulitzer winner was overshadowed by Into the Woods (staged earlier) and Sweeney Todd. A bifurcated look at the creative process pits nineteenth-century pointillist Georges Seurat in the first act against a computer (AI, anyone?) in the second.
Pasadena Playhouse, February 14 to March 19, pasadenaplayhouse.org
ART
George Condo: People Are Strange. This month, Hauser & Wirth inaugurates its new West Hollywood gallery with paintings by neo-expressionist George Condo. The title, referencing the Doors’ song of the same name, describes large-scale portraits characterized by layered planes and geometries that echo the city’s dissonance.
Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood, February 15 to April 22, hauserwirth.com
RELATED: 15 Minutes With George Condo
Refik Anadol: Living Paintings. Fresh off his MoMA debut, Refik Anadol returned to his Frogtown studio to organize his latest show, presented by Jeffrey Deitch at his Hollywood gallery. Most Angelenos know Anadol from the tenth-anniversary celebration of the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in which archival footage was projected nonstop on the building’s exterior. Back then, he used AI to delve into the L.A. Phil’s archive, drawing from memories according to machine logic. His cutting-edge practice has resulted in artworks that react to their environment, whether it be sound, temperature, or wind speed, as with the murals he created for Boston’s Logan International Airport. The new works draw from California’s environmental data sets, including L.A.’s weather, images of national parks, and wind forecasts over the ocean. Also on view is Anadol’s traveling Infinity Room, an immersive wall of real-time data.
Jeffrey Deitch, February 18 to April 8, deitch.com
BOOKS
The Angel Maker. From internationally best-selling author Alex North comes a murder mystery centered on a brother and sister with a traumatic past. When a distinguished professor is murdered, clues point to two suspects—the brother’s long-ago attacker and a notorious serial killer who is said to have precognition. February 28.
DANCE
The Horse. Choreographer and dancer Chris Emile’s ritualistic dance opera features a raucous score and soundscape by Cody Perkins, with West African drummers and vocals by Alexis Vaughn. In the tradition of vodun, or voodoo, the body is the “horse” that the inhabiting deity “rides” in this look at ancestral knowledge and grief.
Rancho Los Cerritos, March 4, 5, 11 and 12, longbeachopera.org
ART
Desert X. For its third iteration, Desert X features outdoor installations across 40 miles of the Coachella Valley with new works addressing the theme of water. Artists focus on the way we live, our impact on the environment, and our contribution to the climate crisis. Coachella Valley, March 4 to May 7, desertx.org
MUSIC
Regina Spektor. Born in Moscow and raised in the Bronx, this piano prodigy and anti-folk chanteuse employs a broad vocal range with a falsetto extension and unorthodox technique. For one night only, Spektor beguiles with fan faves like “Samson” and “Poor Little Rich Boy.”
Walt Disney Concert Hall, March 7, laphil.com
Billy Joel + Stevie Nicks. With seven Grammys between them, this boomer double bill pairs “The Piano Man” himself, Billy Joel, with former Fleetwood Mac flame, Stevie Nicks. So dress like a gypsy and whirl to the tunes that wore out your eight-track.
SoFi Stadium, March 10, sofi.stadium.com
FAMILY
Move More, Be Healthy, Family Fun Run. Don’t feel like running? Then set the kids loose instead while you pride yourself on promoting family fitness. The events include a 50-yard Diaper Dash (ages 3-5), a 1K Kiddy Run (ages 6-9), and a 5K Run/Walk (all ages).
Marketplace Shopping Center, La Habra, March 11, lahabraca.gov/674/la-habra-races
SPORTS
March Madness. It’s bracket time again, this year launching in Dayton, Ohio, and landing with the Final Four in Houston, where the home team is favored. And yet Gonzaga lurks, along with the usual suspects, North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and our own beloved Bruins. CBS, March 14 to April 3.
BOOKS
48 Clues Into the Disappearance of My Sister. When the beautiful Marguerite vanishes from her town in upstate New York, her less beautiful and jealous sister, Gigi, helps investigate. The latest by celebrated author Joyce Carol Oates is not just a ripping good mystery, but a meticulous character study executed as only she can. March 14.
MUSIC
SZA. SOS seized the charts late last year, landing SZA atop the Billboard 200 for four weeks. The video for her single, “Kill Bill,” named after the 2003 Quentin Tarantino film, gets pulses pumping as the R&B singer wields a katana sword against a violent ex.
Kia Forum, March 22, thekiaforum.com
THEATER
Cirque du Soleil: Corteo. It’s about the death of a clown. No, his name’s not “Corteo”; that’s Italian for “procession.” And no, it’s not dour. It’s fun for everyone, with swinging chandeliers, bouncing beds, acrobatics, and, of course, plenty of clowning. Microsoft Theater, March 23 to April 30, microsofttheater.com
MUSIC
Depeche Mode. Like their 1987 hit album, it’s Music for the Masses.These synth-pop pioneers haven’t played anywhere in five years, but they’re in L.A. for one night, marking their first tour following the death of founding keyboardist Andy Fletcher last spring.
Kia Forum, March 28, thekiaforum.com
DANCE
American Ballet Theatre’s Like Water for Chocolate. First, it was a novel by Laura Esquivel, then it was a 1992 Mexican film starring Marco Leonardi, and now it’s a ballet choreographed by the Royal Ballet’s red-hot Christopher Wheeldon. Tita wants to marry Pedro but must tend to her ailing mother instead. Her frustrations are expressed through cuisine with a magic realist aftertaste. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, March 29 to April 2, scfta.org
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